The Phantom of Nezumi's Past
by YourGreatestDream
Summary: NezumiXShion Shion is surprised when Dogkeeper asks a favor of Nezumi. When he hears the place that Dogkeeper asks Nezumi to go, his reaction startles our cute white-haired Shion. What is this place Dogkeeper mentions? What exactly was in Nezumi's past? Shion must know, and he'll do anything to find out!
1. Chapter 1: Going Solo

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own No.6! Be it Anime or Manga! Both are fantastically awesome.**

**NezumiXShion 3**

**My job is done :3 Enjoy!**

**The Phantom of Nezumi's Past - by YourGreatestDream**

Shion waited outside the walls of the No. 6 district. Nezumi had gone inside to rescue a little girl as a favor from the dog lender. In return, the money was worth the risk of his life, but only just. Nezumi had seen where in district 6 he was asked to go and nearly declined outright.

Shion remembered when they were at the dog hotel and Nezumi acted strange at Dogkeeper's request. Nezumi had been handed the map location of the prisoner.

He had thrown it down in anger and would have nearly strangled Dogkeeper to death if it wasn't for Shion pulling him back. "You want me to go THERE? Are you OUT OF YOUR MIND?"

"You're the only one out of us who is familiar with that route."

"They know my face! It's not like breaking into prison like last time. This is the trade route between districts six and three!" Nezumi steamed.

"I'll pay you ten gold pieces." Dogkeeper said, holding up the amount in his hand for Nezumi to see "Please. I wouldn't ask you if it wasn't very important to me."

"Show me her picture."

A small piece of paper was handed to Nezumi. As he looked at the picture, his eyes widened. He put the picture in his pants pocket and snatched the gold from Dogkeeper's hand.

"I'll take the job."

Shion shivered from the cold outside the walls. He had offered to go in with Nezumi, but was strongly rejected. Nezumi's voice from that time echoed inside Shion's trail of thought.

"You're not coming. Not this time."

"But I want to help you!" Shion had said.

"Don't you dare go near district six and three's trade route! Stay home Shion. This time, it's just too dangerous."

Shion chuckled. To hell with that. There was no way that Shion was going to let Nezumi take on such a dangerous mission all by himself. Shion looked to his right and saw Nezumi disappear into the sewers.

Shion followed him.

Nezumi quietly stood at the exit of the sewers, facing the inner terrors of the trade route. On this other side of the sewers, a bustling low-end town with tents and markets stood had grown from the collapse of the walls surrounding district six. The wall around the sewage system had been modified to brace the sewage tunnel, so it had withstood the collapse. The people along the trade route had been living there long before the incident. What kept them alive and profitable was their main export: slaves.

His back to the wall, Nezumi slid into the shadows of the foliage around the tents. His black rat skittered out from under his super-fiber cloth and onto his shoulder.

Nezumi leaned his head to the little robot of his which Shion had named Moonlight. "Go see if she's there."

It nodded and jumped off him to the ground, skittering off towards the tents. Nezumi threw the hood of his grey cloak over his head. Lowering his hand to his pockets he checked his inventory: knife, bombs, triggers, chloroform, papers for secret messages, and his other two robots. Cravat and Hamlet shuffled impatiently in the inner pockets of his dark blue jacket, awaiting his order.

A thought occurred to Nezumi. He tagged Hamlet with his finger and it ran up to his shoulder. "Go check on Shion. Report back if he's safe, if not then stay with him."

Hamlet squeaked and ran off, his tiny claws clicking quickly over the cement sewer walkway.

Nezumi let out a breath. He had forced himself to forget this place; his past was not worth remembering after all. What happened in this place nearly crippled him back then. Now, he was no longer the frightened child on the run. Nezumi was stronger, his fangs were sharper, and his experience gave him the power he lacked back then.

Yet, the phantoms of the past persisted. With all these years of swallowing his pride and emotions, Nezumi knew that fear was not easy to push away. Fear was vital when it came to survival, but this irrational fear that was haunting him now could get him killed.

He shouldered the troubling thoughts and pushed on.

**Sorry this is so short. It serves as an introduction to my new story I will be writing up in a number of chapters. **

**Please review if you have ideas to how the story should turn. I appreciate the support :)**


	2. Chapter 2: A Snake in the Streets

Shion walked down the dark and creepy sewer tunnel, listening to the murky sloshes of the black water bellow him to his left. He was positive he saw Nezumi go this way.

A squeak got him to look down.

"_Hamlet!?_" Shion muttered quietly. "What are you doing here?"

The rat wriggled its nose. Shion shook his head, wondering for the umpteenth time if these rats were really robots.

"Please don't go to Nezumi and tell him that I'm following." Shion asked the rat. Whether or not the rat understood, it stayed. Hamlet climbed up Shion's pants and shirt until he was sitting snuggly on Shion's shoulder.

Shion smiled. He continued his walk until he saw light at the end of the tunnel. He ran towards it, eager to get out of the smelly pits of the sewer.

At last he emerged from the tunnel. Shion took in a deep breath of fresh air. Only seconds after calming down did he realize how loud he was. He turned to see if Nezumi was anywhere near him. He wasn't.

Shion sighed in relief at not getting caught, but then a new realization struck him. He lost Nezumi. How was he going to find out about all this stuff _now_? Where was he supposed to go?

"Hamlet, can you help me follow Nezumi?" Shion tried asking the rat in a whisper. Hamlet jumped down and started scurrying off.

"Wait up!" Shion spoke in a louder whisper. At least he had a lead. He then looked around from the bushes in the shadow at the trade route that Nezumi had gone to.

_Nezumi, what is this place? What has you so worked up about it? _

.

.

.

Memories are a hard thing to push back. Nezumi pushed them back as hard as he could as he snuck passed the dome-like structure which housed the arena for slave battles. How many kids like himself had he been pitted up against and killed? No! Don't think about that.

Too late. The memories of the arena filled his mind and he began to feel blood sticking to his hands and chest and face. Not his blood, but others. Their dying breaths next to his ears and fading eyes capturing all of his attention.

_Shit. _Nezumi punched the ground, driving the phantoms away. He needed to find the girl from the photo and fast. He shook his head and continued shifting through the shadows. Mayu. He had thought she was dead. There was no way they could have kept her alive. What reason would they have to keep her? He had to find out the truth behind all of this.

He stopped. He jumped back into the dark corner of the cement building he was walking next to and flashed his cloak to cover him, it's grey outer sheets camouflaging with the cold cement. Like this, he stare out at the person coming around the corner, and the moment that he saw that face, he paled.

A bald-headed man walked down the dark alleyway, taking the same uninhabited pathways around buildings that Nezumi was. Six bodyguards walked at pace behind him and in front. The man had snake scales tattooed on his bald head, reflecting in the flickering neon lights that were the only source of light in this joint. The moment his head faced Nezumi's general direction, he knew who it was immediately. Nezumi nearly choked down his cries of hatred.

A burn scar on the man's left eye, and a vertical cut below it shown eerily in the blue light of the broken neon sign. His natural eye color was determined by his right eye, which was a piercing gold hue. However, the left eye stared blankly, the pupil was a milky pale white, proving the blindness of the eye. The burned scar tissue framed the eye socket, and dripped down two inches from the corner of his eye furthest from his wide nose.

_Noboru Nori. _Nezumi shivered. What luck he must have to nearly run into the man at the top of the slave trading corporation. A man he knew would not hesitate to torture him slowly. _There are far worse things than death. That man knows them all. _

The mission came back to his mind, and he inwardly cursed as he realized the chance of the moment. The easiest way to find Mayu, was to follow Noboru. He slowly and silently breathed out and followed them after they passed him for about ten meters.

_Fuck my life…_


	3. Chapter 3: Nightmares of Fire

**Disclaimer: I don't own crappola. **

**Author's Note: I finally made it! I made a timeline of Nezumi's past, and now I have a proper plot. Don't know what Shion will be up to, but I'll make sure he unintentionally helps Nezumi out on their journeys. I already have something in mind for when they meet up again, but that won't be for a while. Mwahahaha! **

**Warning: later on there will be some ShionxNezumi, but yeah that is cannon. **

**The Phantom of Nezumi's Past Ch. 3: Nightmares of Fire – by YourGreatestDream**

Flash Back:

"Honey, have you seen our son? Where did that child run off to now?" A woman chastised outside her cottage. Her long, black hair ran down her back to the end of her shoulder blades. The color of her eyes was a stormy silver. She carried a wicker basket of clothes, as well as a lecturing tone.

A man walked out of the front door, to face her. His dark brown hair was short and choppy, and his eyes were a deep green like the pine trees, with small variations within its gaze, like the color that results from the rays of sun setting upon the branches of an oak. He reached his right hand up to scratch his stubbly beard.

"Silvia, he's six years old! Let him run around and explore the world." The man said.

"You're his father! Shouldn't you be more concerned about his well-being?" Silvia agonized, picking the clothespins down from the clothes line, and gathering the dry clothes from were they had hung. She put down the basket and began to fold the shirts.

"That's your job, and you're doing it well." The man stated, resting a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

Silvia visibly let out a strained breath. "Rowan, our son is becoming more and more like you as the days pass."

Rowan smiled. He looked out at the tall, emerald grass in which he had seen his son Nezumi run off into after stealing a piece of Silvia's home-baked apple pie. _These days don't last forever. _Rowan thought. _Someday our boy will grow up, and we'll be reminding him of the times when he used to steal pies from the kitchen windowsill. _He was determined to enjoy this time with his son.

They both looked up then, at the direction of a scream.

The small, black haired boy munched on the mesh of apple pie in his right hand, surveying the sunset from his favorite spot in the forest. His secret base was a tall tree that only he could climb. His friends all tried to best him at climbing on this tree, but they never could. He would simply look down at them, hanging by the crook of his legs from a tall branch, and stick out his tongue. This is where he always went when he wanted time for himself.

As well as time for pies.

The boy licked his lips. He sat with his back to the trunk, the lower half of his legs dangling from the dib in the bark in which he had hollowed out. _The sun is very pretty today. More red than usual. _

He felt like a song. He'd been happy all day, and it was the right time of day for it. His parents loved it when he sang, and although he disliked singing in from of people he let out his voice when he was alone. Just like now.

He opened his mouth and let the air out from his tiny lungs. He took a deep breath and then sang a song he had learned from eavesdropping on the cavern with his friends. It was an up-beat little jest of a song, and made the people who heard it want to dance.

"Where the trees meet the waters and the dew drops sweat!

Where the drinks there are sweeter than a hornet's nest!

That's where you'll find the lady you won't forget!

The one to make you settle down, saying you're the best!

"Only her is what you want, the shine that lights her hair!

She'll be yours for the night, once you're wallet's bare-"

He stopped and looked at the creature sitting on the branch next to him. It blinked it's tiny red eyes, and rubbed its left ear with it's small pink claws. A rat. A white rat.

"How did you get up here?" The boy asked, astounded.

It simply looked at him and cocked its head. It turned its head towards the village and then turned and ran in the opposite direction. Taking a closer look, the boy spotted a bright glow in the direction of the forest village. Was there a festival that no one told him about? Who's idea was it to leave him out of the loop like this? Was it Itsuki? That brat! He must have told them all not to tell him about it so that they could all go to the festivities without him.

Like that was going to happen. The boy smirked, inwardly planning how to get back at Itsuki.

The boy descended from the tree.

In the bushes aside of the tree, a spectral, dreaming Nezumi stood, his eyes panicking. He reached his hand out to the running kid, trying to warn him not to go, but nothing came out. He couldn't speak, scream, or even whisper. He watched in torment as the kid ran across the field of tall grass, continuing his nightmare even though he _knew_ how it would end. Countless times Nezumi had relived this memory through nightmares. Each and every time he tried to stop it and failed. He watched painfully as the little boy recognized the fire and his village's screams. His friend Itsuki was beheaded in front of him, and men in black suits and gas masks flooded the forest, spreading toxic gas and flames on every house, every tree, and every one.

The little boy hid among the tall grass shivering as the scary men all passed by him. The boy watched as his parents were mowed down with street sweeper machine guns. His eyes shocked, he felt the blood leave his face cold as he stared at the fallen, bloody bodies of his parents. Their eyes open and unseeing, and limbs cast aimlessly upon the smoking earth.

Death. All he could see was death. All he could hear was their screams of pain as they exited this world. Little flashes of hope were snuffed out as the teachers made the children run down the pathway in the back, only to find soldiers waiting for them.

From within, a fear sparked bright in the boy's heart. He wasn't going to die. He walked out slowly back the way he had came, unnoticed by the scary men. Turning around he started running faster than his life depended on. Nezumi, in his dreaming state, watched as two men followed suite, recognizing the sound of a fleeing child.

The boy, knowing the forest better that they did, ran to his friend's fort twenty feet away. It was specifically built so no adult could enter. He slipped into a hole in a tree's roots that was too small for anyone older than six. It lead to a clearing that was barred from other entries except for an escape exit at the far end. Standing up, the boy could hear the men outside uttering mocking shouts, and filling the fort with gas. Covering his face, the boy walked quietly to the other end. He didn't want the men to know he would be leaving this fort. He coughed loudly for emphasis, letting the men outside believe they had him by the ropes.

Just as they lit the fort on fire, the boy slipped out through the tree roots on the other side. The roots caught fire instantly, and too late did he escape its touch. Fire caked his back, licking the skin and eating his shirt before he could roll on the ground to snuff it out. The pain brought tears to his eyes, and despite his tries to choke it down, he cried out in pain. Looking back at the fire reaching up to the high skies, engulfing all of the fun times he had spend with friends he now knew were dead, the boy let out all his pent-up anger out in a loud, resounding cry.

Nezumi didn't watch as the men walked away satisfied, believing they had killed the boy. He walked up to the boy, and took in the sight of the tear streaked face, tattered and burnt clothes, and eyes stinging from the smoke of the fire behind him. The boy stood up, and walked. His silver eyes, though burning and teary from his narrow escape, had that same glare of death as Shion had when he killed a man in cold blood.

Nezumi awoke abruptly, inhaling sharply as he gathered his wits. Looking at the setting sun, Nezumi guessed that he had been asleep for only one hour. Noboru Nori had yet to leave from the tavern in which he entered four hours ago, and Nezumi's body was starting to become stiff from the waiting. He was standing on the rooftop of a cement structure, a good place to observe the entrance of the tavern below without being seen. Earlier, he had scoped through the windows of the tavern's second floor for any signs of the girl, but had been sorely disappointed. She wasn't there.

Suddenly, Nezumi heard a crash as a fight broke out from the tavern. An eyebrow rose on his forehead as he looked down in amusement. After the storm inside settled down, Noboru exited out the front door, his body guards following closely behind. Some of them had smatterings of blood on their black coats, from bashing other fighters till they dropped…and then some.

Nezumi quietly got up. He winced at his sore muscles as they complained at the sudden movement. Ignoring it, he followed the scarred man from the rooftops, careful not to let his shadow be seen as he jumped from one to the other.

Eventually they reached a wide, one story building. They approached it from the back, and two men guarding recognized them immediately and opened the door. Nori sauntered through, and the doors closed behind his guards.

Unbeknownst to them, the guards both fell to the ground without a sound, as an intruder slipped in behind them, taking fast to the shadows.

Shion rubbed his head from the sore wound he received from the men before. In his search for Nezumi, the rat had stopped at a wall near a tavern, and had ran around in circles frantically. Deciding to look around at places nearby, Shion had entered the tavern. After a few minutes had dropped by, he had watched a scary man come down from upstairs and demand a drink from the barkeep, accompanied by numerous cronies. A waitress had been talking with Shion about working overtime for enough money to feed her sick mother when the men had asked for her services.

After the word 'services' took up a different meaning to them, Shion had got a little pissed. Not taking the time to wonder why no one else was standing up to the men, he had politely asked them to let her be. From then on, it was as if he had opened Pandora's Box and pulled out a whole lot of hurt into the world. Especially on him. Luckily, the girl had gotten away without any injuries from the conflict, and soon afterwards had offered for Shion to stay at their inn upstairs for the night in return for his saving her from them.

Shion stopped rubbing his head and huffed. Since when was he ever the hero? Nezumi was the master rescuer. All Shion was good for was getting himself beat up, and receiving sympathy from the damsel in distress. He rolled over on top of the white covers of the bed from lying on his back to lying on his front with his face buried in a pillow. This hero thing sucked.

It was then that he noticed Hamlet the rat scratching at a brick in the wall to his right. Hamlet frantically shuffled his claws against the hard brick and the mortar surrounding it.

"What did you find, Hamlet?" Shion went over and took his one knife out of his pocket. He flipped the pocket knife open and began scratching at the soft mortar. Surprisingly, the crusty white flakes gave way easily. Shion went at it with a renewed purpose. Someone must have placed something behind the brick, something valuable and important.

Shion let out a breath as the brick loosened. He got down on his knees and grabbed around the edges with his fingers. Moving the brick back and forth sideways, Shion got the brick free of the wall, leaving an open space inside where it had been, as well as something beyond that.

Shion reached in and grabbed what felt like plastic. He pulled it out and took a few seconds wondering what it was. After it clicked he jumped back, dropping the bag. What looked like a plastic sandwich bag held inside it a white package with unreadable labels printed on it, but Shion knew what he had felt shaking in that package.

Drugs in the form of pills. He had found an illegal drug exchange location.

_What is this place? _Shion looked at the drugs on the ground, and stared out the window at the surrounding rooftops in a silent request. _Nezumi, what is this place? Wherever you are, please be safe!_


End file.
